Life’s joys, city dwelling, creative living, and world changing in the digital age.

For a foggy, Friday San Francisco evening, hot soon dubu chigae was the perfect method of warding off a cold.

After playing frisbee in the parks of Oakland (several questionable aspects about this activity), Josh suffered from the congestion of both allergies and a cold. Gah. So we dashed our original hipster plans of eating cheese in the Mission and instead headed over to our favorite Korean hole in the wall: My Tofu House.

Soon dubu chigae is a Korean tofu soup, hot both for its scaldingly hot temperatures and spiciness, which makes the broth ember-red from pepper paste. The steam, the pepper, the rich broth—all of it—is the perfect salve for a cold.

We like My Tofu House because the interior makes you feel like you’re home. Warm lights, soft seats, and kind staff make it easy to relax.

Plus, the banchan, or side dishes, are delicious and plentiful. Each person even get their own smelt, and when they’re not busy, you get refills on the banchan.

I always get the combination soup because I like the savory mix of beef plus clam.

And Josh likes to get the noodle one—the ramen soaks up all the flavor. It’s one of a few other vegetarian options on the menu, including vegetable and mushroom. (They always use water and not meat broth.)